“Tyrone was a valuable part of this football family,” Bulldogs coach Sonny Dykes said. “This is a tragic, senseless loss, but he made a lasting impact on this team, university and everyone that knew him.”  A roommate of Duplessis made the emergency call after the running back woke up with chest pain, Louisiana Tech spokesman Patrick Walsh said.  The 21-year-old Duplessis, a third-year student from New Orleans, recently completed his sophomore season of eligibility.

Dykes has informed his players of Duplessis’ death and the team held a meeting to discuss it. The university has also made grief counselors available to the team. ”We were deeply saddened,” Louisiana Tech President Dan Reneau said. “Tyrone was not only a valuable member of our football program, but much more importantly, he was a valued member of the Tech Family. This is a painful loss for our campus community and our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.”

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After collapsing at wrestling practice Wednesday night and being air-lifted to Denver, Summit High School Senior Tristan White was on life support and still in critical condition Thursday, according to Summit School District spokeswoman Jaimee Borger.

The cause of White’s condition is still unknown. An additional statement from the school Thursday afternoon said the next 24 to 48 hours will be crucial for White.  Borger said the update was the most recent the district had received, which came through high school staff that have contact with White’s family.

After White collapsed, emergency responders from Red, White and Blue Fire District, Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and Summit County Ambulance Service arrived at the scene. He was taken to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center before being air-lifted to Denver; Borger said the family has asked the name of the hospital not be disclosed.

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HOLYOKE, Mass. (WGGB) — When he started his freshman year at UMass just a few months ago, Jonathan “Jonno” Gray picked up right where he’d left off when he graduated Holyoke High School. “Everybody enjoyed being around him,” UMass rowing crew club advisor Brian Arnold told ABC40 Monday.  “He was dedicated and passionate about not only the men’s crew, but just being at UMass in general.”

And now he is gone too soon.  Gray died at his family’s Holyoke home Thursday, January 5, apparently while working out.  The kinesiology major had garnered a 3.1 GPA in his maiden semester at UMass, while winning the hearts of many. “Not only a strong teammate,” continued Arnold, “but a really good friend.  I think in the short time that they knew Jon, they were able to build some really good relationships and friendships with him.”

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#1  A male student from Richland High School was to be flown to Seattle on Friday afternoon after collapsing during the lunch hour.

The ninth-grader, whose name was not released, was on break outside of the school Friday with friends when he collapsed, said school district spokesman Steve Aagaard.  Friends ran to get help and two school employees administered first-aid. The athletic director quickly arrived on the scene with a defibrillator, which he used to restart the boy’s heart. Paramedics then took the teen to Kadlec Regional Medical Center.

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#2  The Freeport community is mourning the loss of a 12-year-old who collapsed and died at John W. Dodd Middle School on Thursday.

Seventh-grade student Camille Scott collapsed while entering her classroom Thursday afternoon, according to both Nassau County police and the Freeport School district. Scott was taken to a local hospital where she later passed away.

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#3  A 14-year-old boy died Wednesday after collapsing during a Wagoner Middle School wrestling practice, an official said.

During a cooldown at the end of practice, eighth-grader Ty’Darius Penney fell to the ground and was unresponsive to coaches who came to his aid, Wagoner Public Schools superintendent Monte Thompson said.

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An autopsy revealed Oregon State football player Fred Thompson died of an enlarged heart, according to the MedicalExaminer. Thompson collapsed Wednesday night while playing a game of pick-up basketball on campus.

“It brings us right back to very raw memories,” said Charley Engelfried Sr. who lost his own son and teen athlete to the same condition.

Dallas High School student Charley Engelfried, 17, died right after winning a heavyweight wrestling match last February.  Doctors later determined he suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart.

His parents, Charley and Nicole Engelfried, have paid close attention to several similar cases this year nationwide.  Doctors say while the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is rare, it’s the most common cause of sudden death among young athletes.

“I think with technology we have accessible and the awareness we’re able to provide, it could be prevented,”said Engelfried.

The Engelfrieds say they don’t believe current school screenings go far enough. A spokesman at Oregon State University told Fox 12 incoming student athletes must undergo a basic physical, but that would not cover more advanced testing, such as an electrocardiogram, or EKG, unless the student had a pre-existing condition, or an issue raised concern during the basic physical.

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The student, Daniel Valenson, was in his first year at University High but already had made a “huge impact,” principal Mike Armbruster said in a message to parents. He moved here from New York during the summer.  ”He was the kind of kid who you would want your son or daughter to be friends with,” said Casey McDonald, University’s lacrosse coach. “He was well-spoken and well-liked…a stand-up kid.”  McDonald said Valenson was interested in an engineering career. “He was a heck of a good student…He was a student first and an athlete second.”

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‘It’s a rare occurrence.” That’s a comforting notion until it happens to your child.

Our child, Simon, was 3 months old and taking a nap when he died suddenly. The Lees’ son, Jeffrey, was a University of Pennsylvania senior running the Philadelphia Marathon last weekend. Despite these differences, we now share a stark reality: We’ll always wonder what our boys would have been when they grew up.

Every year, thousands of children and young adults drop dead from sudden cardiac arrest. They are sleeping in their cribs. They are swimming with friends. They are driving a car. They are playing a sport.

Their deaths are often chalked up to sudden infant death syndrome, drowning, fatal auto accidents, or dehydration. Simon’s death was attributed to SIDS. But through independent research and education, we discovered that he actually died from long QT syndrome, a hereditary heart arrhythmia that is responsible for 30 percent of all unexplained sudden infant deaths, according to research by the Mayo Clinic.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death among American adults and student athletes. The conditions that lead to it are detectable and treatable, making these deaths very preventable. So why aren’t we checking young hearts and saving lives?

We screen our kids at birth – and often in utero – for dozens of rare genetic conditions. At school, they get their eyes examined and their hearing checked.

However, the heart, arguably the most important organ in the body, is never screened. Even though a painless electrocardiogram, or EKG – which takes about 30 seconds and costs about $15 – can detect up to 85 percent of the conditions that lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death, our children’s hearts go unchecked.

In the 1980s, Italy started screening the hearts of all school-aged children. As a result, it has reduced the incidence of death from sudden cardiac arrest among children by 89 percent.

Our organization, Simon’s Fund, and others around the United States are providing free heart screenings to tens of thousands of students every year. We are finding that one of every 100 students we screen has an undetected and potentially fatal heart condition. That’s not very rare.

Deaths during marathons may be unusual, but this isn’t just about marathon runners. It is about Akhir Frazier, a Philadelphia high school student who died suddenly while playing basketball last year. It is about Samuel Gitt, a high school football player who died suddenly at a football camp in central Pennsylvania a few months ago. It is about Aidan Silva, an elementary school student from Downingtown who died suddenly last year while playing with his brother. And it’s about thousands of other kids.

It’s time to stop pretending that sudden cardiac arrest in children is rare. It’s time to acknowledge that prevention is possible and cost-effective. And it’s time to start using our heads to protect our kids’ hearts.

Arkansas student-athlete Garrett Uekman was found unconscious and unresponsive in his room in the Northwest Quad residence hall at approximately 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20. Emergency medical crews were called but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at Washington Regional Medical Center on Sunday afternoon.

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Jose Rodriguez, 15, went to take a water break with fellow players when he fell down motionless, sources said. An ambulance was called and JV coach Mike O’Brien attempted CPR. Rodriguez was rushed to New York Community Hospital of Brooklyn, where he later died, according to sources. Cause of death is not yet known pending an autopsy, St. Edmund principal John Lorenzetti said.

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The autopsy is incomplete at this time, but a Macon doctor said that he detected underlying heart problems with the boy.